Food Processing & Agriculture

Business Owner Succession Services Case Histories

Family Business Transfer

One of our Northern California winery clients was established in the early 1990’s as a true family operation. Both parents were involved in managing the winery and vineyard, along with their adult son. As time passed, the parents’ role in the business gradually lessened to the point where their only involvement was as shareholders and creditors. Over the past few years, Moss Adams worked with the parents and the son to develop a plan for smooth management and ownership transition, which resulted in significant estate-tax savings for the parents, and complete management and financial independence for the son.

The ownership transition was accomplished through a combination of gifts, transfers to special-purpose entities, and stock sales/purchases. This was all done in a manner that avoided significant income and gift taxes for the parents, and reassessment of the vineyard real estate upon its transfer to the son.

Strategic Planning

Our Yakima office has been working on long-term strategic plans for several warehouse and packing operations. One of these involves a complete review, including individual meetings with the owner and employees to determine a revised management and operational structure, combined with an ownership-transition plan that will be implemented as part of the reorganization. The organization is pleased with the outcome of the meetings, and is expected to implement many of the recommended changes over the next 12 months.

Corporate Restructuring

We are in the process of working with a long-time client to restructure their operations, which include substantial orchard, warehouse and packing, and sales operations. In addition, the clients, individually and through their various companies, own substantial non-operating assets. Among other things, the restructuring is intended to accomplish the following objectives:

  1. to shield the individuals and non-operating corporate assets from being subject to liabilities associated with the operations;
  2. to ensure that the fruit produced by the orchard operations continues to be available to the packing operations;
  3. to permit a more complete analysis of the profitability and accountability of each of the separate and distinct lines of business;
  4. to facilitate future transfers of ownership in the businesses and/or property holdings; and
  5. to maintain current benefits available to the owners as a result of conducting business in their structure.

Food Processing & Agriculture Contacts

Val Perry

509-248-7750

Rich Thornton

503-242-1447

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Wine Industry Roundtable
August 19, 2008
Napa, CA

ExpoEast
October 15-18, 2008
Boston, MA

InterBev
October 20-22, 2008
Las Vegas, NV

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October 24-27, 2008
Orlando, FL